Rescuers searching for 10 climbers missing after an avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak have located four bodies, officials said.

Efforts are underway to retrieve the bodies of the four climbers despite the harsh weather, according to the senior government officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, did not immediately identify whose bodies were found.

“The team has been out of communication since Thursday,” said Karrar Haidri, vice president of the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), who said army helicopters had joined the search-and-rescue operation and authorities were in contact with the families of the missing climbers.

Renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja, who is a Nepal-born British citizen and served in the British Army and Royal Marines, was leading the group of international climbers on the world’s 12th highest peak when the avalanche struck at midday on Thursday.

The ACP said there had been no contact with any of the climbers since the avalanche.

Mr Purja rose to prominence in 2019 when he scaled the world’s 14 highest peaks in a record 189 days, an achievement featured in the Netflix documentary, 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible. His record was surpassed in 2023.

He is one of five Nepalese climbers in the group, alongside Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi of Hunza, Omani climber Nathira, American climber Mallory Geis, a Chinese climber identified as Wang, and another foreign climber, ACP vice president Karrar Haidri said.

Moving Mountains, a travel company based in Pakistan, announced late last month that the expedition team was on its way to the small town of Askole and wished them a safe journey climbing Broad Peak. The company said this was Geis’ first try at an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan, while it was expected to be Sakhi’s final one.

Sakhi is a guide for the company, as well as a geographer and high-altitude photographer, and has climbed some of the world’s major peaks, according to Moving Mountains’ website.

Geis, 39, lives in San Antonio and is an avid traveller who loves being outdoors, according to her Instagram page. She announced on social media earlier this year that she was closing her Pilates studio to take “a giant leap of faith into the unknown to see where life goes. I have a sneaking suspicion there will be lots of helmets, harnesses, and crampons involved.”

ACP president Major General Irfan Arshad and its senior leaders are in contact with government officials to “facilitate an immediate search and rescue operation”, the organisation said.

In the earlier statement, ACP said: “The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) has received deeply concerning reports of an avalanche that struck a team of climbers on Broad Peak (8,047m) in the Karakoram mountain range around midday today.

“President of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Major General Irfan Arshad, HI(M), along with the senior leadership of the Club, is in constant contact with the highest government authorities and all relevant agencies to facilitate an immediate search and rescue operation.

“Every possible effort is being made to ensure that helicopter support and all available rescue resources are mobilised at the earliest opportunity, subject to weather and operational conditions.

“The Alpine Club of Pakistan is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with all concerned stakeholders.

“The Club prays for the safety and successful rescue of all the climbers and stands in solidarity with their families and the international mountaineering community during this difficult time.”

Broad Peak, at 8,047 meters (26,401 feet), is the world’s 12th-highest mountain. It lies in Pakistan’s Karakoram range, home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, attracting climbers from around the globe.